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Are there any legal poker sites in US?

I used to play almost exclusively at Pokerstars.com. I tried partypoker and full tilt, but they just did not have the same presence. About 5 years ago I cashed out when all of the US sites were shut down. After a very long college career my circle of friends has changed and I don't even have anyone to play with, but I'm just dying to play.

There are a few underground poker houses in my area and I can see where they are at now. But what I'm really itching to do is play online. I could get four tourneys going and play in my underwear. Are there any poker sites that are US friendly, or has the gov't permanently shut all of these down for good?

I suggest you do a google search for summaries of the appropriate rulings to make sure you know what really happened.

I'm no expert on this, but...
The US didn't ban any poker sites. They put a severe chilling effect on the companies who offer online poker, though. They also scared the credit card companies to hell and most credit card companies have banned online poker transactions.

I played on Bovada for a while and it was a bit shady to make deposits and withdrawals, but it all worked out in the end.

I strongly suggest you do a quick search for local gambling laws and make sure you know whether or not what you want to do is at all legal in your city/state.

AFAIK, Bovada is still a viable site for US players. I haven't played in years, so check it out.

I remember when trying to open the sites, on the home page there were banners in large print that the sites had been seized and shut down by the US gov't. My understanding is that it wasn't really illegal to play, but the servers were located offshore. The funds then somehow had to be filtered through US banks. I think this was the big problem. That and unclaimed tax revenue. When filing their income taxes I'm sure nobody claimed 9000 dollars in gambling income.

Yes, but to play on the 100% legal sites you must live in New Jersey or Las Vegas. But you can play on Americas Cardroom, Black Chip Poker, Ignition, and BetOnline without any problems. Just do not mention to your bank that this is a Poker Website.